THE BLACK-HEADED BUNTING. 115 



Younger birds differ from other British Buntings ^-ith white abdo- 

 mens, in the combination of chestnut rump and brown lesser wing- 

 coverts E. rustica having both chestnut, E. j^'^isiUa both brown, 

 and E. schceniclus lesser coverts chestnut and rump brownish-grey 

 or buff. 



Breeding-habits. — ^Nests among clumps of small bushes or edge 

 of thickets on ground among grass like Yellow Bunting. Nest. — 

 Also similar, of dead grasses, lined horsehair and finer grasses. 

 Eggs. — 4-6 ; resembling Yellow Bunting's. Ground varies fi-om 

 light pinkish to violet or greenish-white ; numerous fine 

 brouTi hair-lines and few spots ; pale ashy shell-marks. Average 

 of 54 eggs, 21.48 X 16.1 mm. Breeding-season. — End of May 

 and July. Incubation. — ^Period unkno^vn ; hen incubates. Two 

 broods. 



Food. — Seeds of grasses and mountam-plants ; young fed Mith 

 orthoptera and cicadse. 



Distribution. — Scotland. — One. Male, Fair Isle (Shetlands), Oct. 

 30, 1911 {ut supra). 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Breeds from \\-est Siberia (Ural) to 

 east Siberia. Migrates to China, Mongolia, Turkestan, casually 

 to Europe (Italy, Dalmatia, Russia, south France, Austria, 

 Heligoland). 



EMBERIZA MELANOCEPHALA 



45. Emberiza melanocephala Scop. — THE BLACK-HEADED 



BUNTING. 



Emberiza melanocephala Scopoli, Annus i, Hist. Nat., p. 142 (1769 — 

 Carniola). 



Eiispiza melanocephala (Scopoli), Yarrell, 11, p. 64 ; Emberiza melano- 

 cephala, Scopoli, Saunders, p. 205. 



Description (Plate 5). — Adult male. Winter. — Fore-head, crown, 

 nape black, almost entirely obscured by buff-brown tips to feathers ; 

 lores and ear-coverts same, but black less obscured ; scarcely visible 

 collar at back of neck j^ellow and chestnut ; mantle and scapulars 

 chestnut, much obscured by long buff-bro\\-n fringes, most of the 

 tips having dark shaft-lines (some adult specunens have varying 

 number of feathers of mantle brown with mesial dark streaks) ; 

 back and rump mixture of yellow and chestnut ; upper tail-coverts 

 brown, marked yeUow or chestnut and tipped grey ; chin and tibial 

 feathers yello\vish-buff ; small patch of chestnut on each side of 

 breast ; rest of imder -parts * yellow, much obscured by buffish- 

 \\'hite tij)s to feathers, especially on tlu^oat, breast, and flanks ; 



* Occasional specimens have black feathers on throat, and very rarely 

 entirely black throat. 



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